André Greipel wins stage 6 of the Tour de France

10/07/2014

German champion André Greipel showed the world what he is capable of when he can start sprinting in a good position. He won the 6th stage to Reims.

In a very fast race, there were a lot of cross wind, which made positioning in the peloton crucial. Because of this, echelons formed. OPQS made a move in the final 10 kilometers, and lots of riders were not able to keep up. Kittel was at the back of the peloton, so the other riders could compete for the win this time. Kwiatkowski tried to finish off the work of his team with an attack in the final kilometer, but was caught by the sprinting peloton.

Greipel took control of the sprint with 150 metres to go and it was immediately obvious that he was going to win. He sprinted with all his gorilla power and finished a few bike lengths ahead of the others. A great win for the German champion, and for Ridley!

André Greipel: "This isn't only a victory for me, but especially for the team. We were criticized the last days, but as a team we always kept believing in a stage win. Lars Bak did a huge amount of work the last days and then it's always nice to thank the guys with a victory. We did have to reorganize ourselves a bit. Bart De Clercq isn't 100% after his crash of a few days ago and also Greg Henderson was an important man in the sprint train. Of course I'm relieved. There was some pressure on my shoulders, but as a sportsman you have to be able to handle that. Today I did, by answering on the bike."

"The final was hectic. Because of all the roundabouts it was difficult to set up a lead-out. When entering the final kilometer Kwiatkowski surprised with a late attack and everybody looked at each other. Luckily Porsev of Katusha closed the gap for sprinter Kristoff. That was the perfect scenario for me. I started pretty early, but felt I could keep up my tempo."

"It's my thirteenth victory of the season. My crash in Ghent-Wevelgem was disappointing, but the preparation for the Tour went well. The condition is good at the moment and that's the main thing. Now it's all about surviving the tough stages and in stages where it's possible I'll try to have another go."